SYLLABUS and COURSE INFORMATION
University of Houston Immigration Clinic I
Summer 2016
June 6- August 9
Janet B. Beck, Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor1
Josephine Sorgwe, Clinical Supervising Attorney
Class time and location: Tuesdays 4-6 pm, TU II Rm 121
ORIENTATION
Orientation will occur on Thursday and Friday June 2 and 3. You will receive a separate Orientation
Schedule via email. Materials on different immigration areas can be found in the “Y drive” which
will be shown to you during Orientation. Orientation is designed to give you an overview of certain
areas of immigration law, provide you with an opportunity to observe immigration court proceedings
and to address certain administrative issues.
THE COURSE COMPONENT
Purpose
The Clinic course component is designed to provide you with substantive law as well as practical
skills to facilitate your work with Clinic clients. Your supervising professors will assist you in
applying the law to your clients’ cases and in developing practical skills throughout the semester.
Preparation
For each Clinic class (Tuesdays from 4 to 6 pm), read the materials relevant to the topic. These
materials are located on the Y drive under course materials. If you wish to read more about any
particular topic or prepare more for any specific case, ask your professors for additional resource
materials such as the Immigration Law Sourcebook, 13th ed. (Kurzban) or the Asylum Primer, 7th
edition.)
Case Rounds
Case rounds help students strategize about their cases with the help of the professors and fellow
students during class. Be ready to provide the basic facts of your case, the legal arguments, why you
have taken certain action steps and your plan for future action. Your action steps should go towards
what you are trying to prove e.g. expert witness to assess whether the client’s current or reported
psychological symptoms are/are not congruent with the client’s account of the events and will/will
not corroborate the client’s credibility by a disinterested party.
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE CLINIC
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Geoffrey Hoffman, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Immigration Clinic, will not be teaching in the Summer
Clinic. Prof. Hoffman will be teaching Crimmigration this summer.
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Clinic Hours
A minimum of 15 hours per week in the Clinic and 2 hours in the Tuesday Clinic class are required
for a total of 17 hours/week. The total is 200 hours.
Community Outreach
All students are required to do at least two (2) community outreaches this summer. The Dilley
Detention Center will count as an outreach as well as for 18 hours of your 200 hour total for the
Clinic. Professor Sorgwe conducts most of our outreaches and she will keep a record of all the
outreaches done by students.
Grades
You will receive a grade for each case you work on. The professors will meet to discuss your final
grade which includes your performance on all your cases. Your grade will be determined based on
the documents you prepare, your organizational skills, your ability to work with your fellow students,
your recording of time as well as your Student Logs, your meetings with professors and class
participation. For more information on grades, please see the Student Handbook and a folder
titled “Grades and Expectations” in the Clinic Y drive.
The professors will meet with you at mid-semester and before the end of the semester to comment on
your work and to help you design a plan for any areas that need improvement. After you meet with
your professors, Prof. Beck will meet with you wherein she will review your case files (in the Y
drive under the client’s name and in the physical client file) in order to determine the quality and
quantity of your work product. At mid-semester and at the end of the semester you must show your
professors your print-outs for each case from MyCase.
NOTE: There is a 48-hour rule concerning sending out any work to be filed with the
immigration court or any administrative agency. This should not be construed to mean that you
should ignore deadlines imposed by your supervising attorneys in the event they would like drafts or
other worked turned in earlier than 48 hours. All work must be turned in to your professor for their
review by the deadlines set by the professor. No work product should be filed with the
immigration court or administrative agencies without the approval and signature of the
professor.
Journals
The journal is designed as a way for you to assess the skills you are developing or honing as well as
the substantive knowledge you are acquiring. They should also reflect your emotional reactions to
your work with the clients. Please see the Student Handbook for details regarding the contents of a
journal. Your journals must be emailed to the Clinic professors at the times indicated on this
Syllabus.
Self-Evaluation
At the end of the semester, students will fill out self-evaluation forms as explained in the Student
Handbook and email them to Prof. Beck.
Class Attendance
Class attendance on Tuesdays from 4 to 6 pm is mandatory unless otherwise excused with the written
permission of Professor Beck. The room number is TU II Room 215.
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Communicating with your Supervising Professors
You must communicate with your professors weekly, if not more often, about your cases.
Depending on the case, you may be communicating via email, telephone or face-to-face meetings. If
the professor does not hear from you during a given week, s/he will presume that you are not
working on the case. There may be a reason that you are not able to work on every case every week
e.g. you have a big case with a deadline with another professor and must dedicate yourself
completely to that case. However, you must inform the other professor as to the deadline case and let
her know when you will be available to work on their cases.
SYLLABUS
*****REMEMBER: READ THE MATERIALS ON THE Y DRIVE PRIOR TO THE CLASS IN
WHICH THE SPECIFIC TOPIC WILL BE DISCUSSED.*****
Class 1-- June 7
Client Interviewing Techniques
Knowing the law before you interview a client. How to build trust and elicit the most information
from your client. Managing client expectations. Setting boundaries with clients. Confidentiality and
dual representation.
Writing Introductory Letters to Clients
The substance and format of letters to clients.
Class 2—June 14
Special Immigrant Juveniles
• Read powerpoint in Y drive
Administrative Clinic Procedures
Clinic intake form
Clinic Legal Services Agreement
File keeping- Y drive
Time keeping/client bills (MyCase)
Journals
Mid-semester and transfer/closing memos
Memos to file (following interviews/court, etc.)
*****Before June 21 at 4 pm, e-mail Journal # 1 to all professors******
Class 3—June 21
Evidentiary Requirements for VAWA cases
Read 8 CFR § 204.2(c)
Inadmissibility and Waivers for U, T, VAWA and SIJ cases
Read powerpoint in Y drive
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Class 4- June 28
Legal Writing
• In-class exercises regarding writing motions, persuasive letters to USCIS, briefs to the
immigration court and to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Creating a List of Exhibits and
an Annotated List of Exhibits.
Class 5—July 5
Detention Issues—Read before Class*
• Asylum, withholding of removal/Convention Against Torture 8 CFR §§ 1208.1, 16, 17
• Credible Fear Determinations (CFI) 8 CFR § 1208.30
• Reasonable Fear Determinations (RFI) 8 CFR § 1208.31
• Bond hearings 8 CFR § 1003.19
• Change of Venue 8 CFR § 1003.20
• Matter of A-R-C-G, 26 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2014)
*The above materials will be placed in your boxes
JULY 6 AT 1 PM—TELEPHONIC ORIENTATION BY CARA STAFF
(45 minutes—place to be determined)
JULY 8-10 TRIP TO DILLEY
*****On or before July 12: complete mid-semester memos and letters to clients AND save
in Y drive Client Folder (Word and scanned signed documents)*****
Class 6- July 12
Secondary Trauma
Recognizing and dealing with secondary trauma. Guest speaker: Adriana Crane, LCSW
*****July 11-15: Meet with Prof. Sorgwe to review physical files and Y drive client folders
with Mid-Semester Memos and Letters completed and print-outs of MyCase per client*****
*****July 18-22: Meet with Prof. Beck for Mid-Semester Review. She will review physical
files and Y drive client folders with Mid-Semester Memos and Letters and MyCase completed
for her cases. She will receive information on your cases with Prof. Sorgwe from Prof. Sorgwe.
*****
Class 7-- July 19
Immigration Court Proceedings. Master Calendar and Hearings on the Merits/Trial
• Procedural Issues in Master Calendar and Merits Hearings. Preparing for and defending your
clients’ rights in proceedings. Effective techniques for representing your clients.
• ABA DVD Best Practices- Master calendar and Asylum trial segments
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****Before July 26 at 4 pm, email Journal # 2 to all professors.
Class 8 – July 26
Working with Expert Witnesses: Mental Health Professionals and Country Experts
• Read powerpoint and court script in Y drive- Experts/Working with Experts
• What to tell an expert witness when requesting a report; what to expect from an expert witness;
direct and cross examination
• How to find expert witnesses
• ABA DVD Best Practices- Expert Witness segment
Class 9—August 2
Grounds of Inadmissibility. Grounds of Deportability.
Analysis of the differences between inadmissibility and deportability.
hypothetical fact patterns.
Applying the law to
*****On or before August 5 Friday: Write end-of-semester memos and client letters*****
Class 10—August 9
Waivers of Inadmissibility; Adjustment of Status; Consular Processing
The grounds of inadmissibility and deportability that may be waived. The difference between
Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing. Using the Visa Bulletin. Applying the law to
hypothetical fact patterns.
***August 8-12 : Meet with Prof. Beck for end-of-semester review****
***Send your completed self-evaluations to all Clinic professors on or before August 12
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